Contact spring probes are known in the art. The typical contact spring probe includes a barrel, a plunger and a spring which urges the plunger outwardly from the barrel. The spring and plunger are encapsulated by the barrel which is press-fit into a socket of a test fixture. The electrical conduction path from the probe tip to the socket is typically from the probe to the spring, to the barrel to the socket, or from the probe to the barrel to the socket. Long signal paths may reduce or degrade the electrical performance of the probe and may contribute to mechanical degradation or failure.